The present invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for picking-up and further transporting folded printed products, especially signatures or sheets, from a conveying device.
Generally speaking, the apparatus of the present invention is for picking-up and further transporting folded printed products, especially signatures or sheets, from a conveying device. These printed signatures or folded sheets are straddlingly conveyed by the conveying device with their folded edges substantially mutually aligned in the direction of conveyance of the conveying device. The apparatus of the present invention comprises a product pick-up means or lifting or elevating device for lifting the printed signatures or folded sheets by entering between the product halves or portions.
Furthermore, a conveying or transporting device is provided for grasping the raised or lifted printed signatures or sheets and for further transporting these printed signatures or sheets.
Known apparatuses of this type, as described, for example, in the Swiss Pat. No. 358,100, granted Nov. 15, 1961 and the Swiss Pat. No. 459,270, granted July 15, 1968, pick-up or lift the printed signatures or sheets from endless, circulatingly driven transport or conveyor chains by raising or lifting a pick-up element or sword-like member. The printed signatures or sheets, which as a rule comprise a plurality of interstuffed or interlined printed signatures or sheets, are further transported by means of this sword-like member. The sword-like member is positioned between the transport or conveyor chains and prior to or upstream of the return or deflection of the path of these transport chains. The printed signatures or sheets are delivered or conveyed to a conveyor arrangement with their folded edges leading. This conveyor arrangement is formed by pairs of conveyor rollers or by conveyor bands or straps coacting with pairs of conveyor rollers. Subsequent to or beyond this conveyor arrangement there is located a further conveyor band or strap.
The intermediate or end products pass through the conveyor gap formed by the pairs of conveyor rollers or the conveyor bands or straps coacting with conveyor rollers. By means of this action, the product halves, which at the moment of their pick-up or lifting from the transport chains are still separated or spread apart from one another, are completely laid upon each other. In other words, the previously opened intermediate or end products are in this manner again closed. Any re-opening of these printed products would thus involve considerable processing effort.